I clearly remember how the original Motorola Droid felt solid in my hand all those years ago, being one of the first few notable Android-powered smartphones. How times have changed situations -- Motorola no longer produces phones by its own accord, but rather, is owned by China’s Lenovo -- which incidentally, has also purchased IBM’s PC business more than a decade ago. Well, this time around, the Lenovo-owned Motorola intends to continue from where the Moto G4 and Moto G4 Plus have left off, by offering the Moto Z and the Moto Z Play.
Motorola has set an October release date for the unlocked Moto Z and Moto Z Play, where the former should arrive on October 2, while the latter should see action close to three weeks later on October 20. These prices do seem to be a tad higher compared to what Verizon is offering, although there is no obvious reason just yet. They will function on AT&T and T-Mobile (GSM networks), so do be aware of that.
Do take note that the Moto Z Play Unlocked edition is already available for pre-order on Amazon and Best Buy, with an asking price of $449 (Amazon and Best Buy)a pop. As for the Motorola Moto Z, the pre-order price for the unlocked device would be $699 (Amazon and Best Buy). The perfect options if you find the smartphones agreeable to your needs without having to remain tied down to a contract with a mobile carrier for a period of time.
Just to make sure that you know what you are getting for your hard earned buck, the Motorola Moto Z Play will feature a 5.5-inch AMOLED display with Full HD resolution. It will run on an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 processor, accompanied by 3GB of RAM, has 32GB of internal memory which can be further expanded to a whopping 2TB (!) as long as you have the right capacity microSD memory card in the slot.
In terms of imaging capability, the Motorola Moto Z Play should not disappoint, delivering a 16MP shooter at the back with a 5MP front-facing camera, making it more than enough to handle the most mundane of photography tasks -- including snapping photos of your breakfast, lunch, dinner and desserts in between, trying on a new dress, the works.
Apart from that, the Moto Z Play follows the modular route of the LG G5, as it supports MotoMods just like the larger sized Moto Z. With a 3,510 mAh battery running proceedings from within, it should be able to last through the day without a recharge session for the average user. I cannot say the same for power users, since all of us have very different usage patterns.
As to whether these smartphones are worth purchasing or not, it really depends on whether you would want to be part of the MotoMods movement. Brand loyalty counts for something in the modern world, but at the end of the day, it really is all about the amount of value that you obtain for your spending.
